Some applications require a display of position and speed simultaneously. An example may be unwinding and winding of rope from a hoist. A PLC and HMI requires programming and debugging, time and knowledge. Read on for quick and easy economical solutions.
Typically, the position and speed signals are provided by encoders. These can be standard incremental encoders, or in more critical applications, absolute encoders. With incremental encoders position, the position is counted up or down by the display / controller. On the other hand, with absolute encoders the position is maintained in the encoder, when power is lost and the encoder position changed, the new position will be transmitted when the power is restored.
Connectric provides easy solutions for both systems. The Motrona MX350 can display both position and speed simultaneously with a single incremental input. If the power is lost, the MX350 will remember the last position. However if the encoder is moved while the power is lost, the MX350 will not show the new position when the power is resumed. The position will have to be zeroed by moving the product to the reference point and manually or remotely zeroing the MX350. This however is not the case with absolute encoders.
In the past, to obtain position and speed information using an absolute encoder, both, absolute and incremental outputs were provided from the encoder. There was an additional cost associated with the incremental output, and a separate additional display (if not using a PLC and HMI) was required to display the speed. The new Motrona IX350/355 now provides position and speed simultaneously on a single display without the requirement of the additional incremental output from the absolute encoder. The advantage is a lower cost standard absolute encoder, and no requirement for a separate display for the speed. The IX350 also handles multi-turn encoders and provides bit blanking on the lower and higher bits. The display is in the unit of measurement, not number of encoder pulses.
With some applications, linearity adjustment for accurate positioning is a requirement. An example is the display of position of a rope on a hoist with multiple layers of wrap around the drum. The outer layers have more length per layer than the inner layers, and position does not have a linear relationship to the drum rotation over the total length of the rope. The Motrona displays feature 24 point linearization according to the required units of display e.g. feet, meters, etc.. In the application of a hoist with 10 layers of wrap, the user would program 11 points of linearization and show accurate positioning. However linearisation applies only to one parameter, position or speed. If accuracy for both is important, we would recommend 2 displays, once for position and the other for speed. Linearization using the 350 series is a lot easier and quicker than trying to achieve that on a PLC and HMI.
In addition to the easy to read bright display, the Motrona 350 series features up 4 presets and 4 independent outputs, optional relay and analogue outputs, RS232 or RS485 communication. The series are easy to use with touch screen or PC programming and certainly a lot quicker and more economical than programming a PLC and HMI. When programming the 350 series using a PC, the display/controller parameters can be stored in a computer file for future reference and used to fine tweak the program or program multiple units.
Contact Connectric for additional information and application assistance. info@connectric.com.